


It's Time

by 46captain46



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, You Have Been Warned, i don't like hinata, it had been on my mind for quite a while
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-10-23 03:39:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10711416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/46captain46/pseuds/46captain46
Summary: One day Naruto realizes that enough is enough. He can't live this way anymore.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This idea had been on my mind for a while and I finally wrote and actually finished it!

He wakes up and the sun is blinding him. He slowly opens his eyes and squints because of the light that has made its way into the house from the window directly in front of him. He sits up and tries to remember where he is. He blinks a few times and takes in his surroundings. The place seems familiar but doesn’t feel familial.

His mind catches up and he remembers that he’s in his house and Hinata will wake up any moment now to make breakfast.

His heart constricts and he tries to regulate his breathing before he breaks down again.

_So it was all a dream, right, Sasuke?_

He clenches his fist a little too tight for comfort to keep himself in check. God knows how many times he’s had the same dream for the past decade or so.

He finally gets up and goes to the bathroom to splash some water on his face. The icy cold liquid helps a little but not as much as he would have liked. He finds himself looking at his reflection on the mirror, his hands gripping the sink forcefully.

He takes in the little details of himself. He looks at his hair and his eyes, his cheeks and back at his eyes. Even _he_ can see how paler the blue of his iris has gotten, how much emptier his eyes look.

Something feels different this morning. Maybe it’s the dream. It was more vivid, it had felt so real.

Maybe it’s finally time to wake up.

_Maybe it’s finally time to stop lying to himself._

He exits the bathroom and goes towards the kitchen. There is a chance he might be able to make something to eat and leave before anyone wakes up.

He hates himself for doing this to them.

For doing this to _him_.

It’s a never ending cycle of pain and maybe it was finally time it stopped.

His movements freeze as he considers this. Perhaps it _is_ time.

* * *

It is afternoon and the kids won’t be home for at least two more hours. He thinks that maybe now it’s time.  He left the Hokage tower to talk to her and he never was one to cower away from a promise he had made. These days though, more like these years, it felt like he was but a pitiful shadow of his once bright and honest self.

He dares say that he misses those days.

Shaking his head lightly, he opens the door slowly and steps inside. He still feels awfully out of place in the house that’s supposed to be his.

And that’s exactly why he needs to do this. He sees her in the kitchen, probably preparing lunch. He clears his throat to make his presence known and she turns around, surprise evident in her eyes.

“Naruto-kun. Why are you here?” she asks, confusion painting her voice.

“Hinata, we need to talk.” he closes the door and heads towards the kitchen. She seems overjoyed for a moment before she sees his expression and loses her smile.

For a second Naruto considers forgetting about all this, forgetting about the dream, forgetting about the ghost of Naruto Uzumaki that greets him every morning in the mirror.

But he can’t. He can’t pretend he’s okay anymore. He can’t pretend that being apart from him isn’t killing him. He can’t pretend everything’s alright.

He knows he loves her. That he cares for her.

Just not the way she wants him to, the way everyone wants him to. He loves her the same way he loves all his friends and cares for them. But not the way a husband is supposed to love his wife.

He had hoped that her love for him would be enough for their marriage. He had thought that he could live with the pain, that he could love her back one day.

Deep down though, he always knew who held his heart as fiercely as he held theirs.

“We need to stop this.” He says and there’s no hesitation in his voice. He doesn’t expect it when understanding shows in her face and she nods slowly. She turns around with her expression unreadable and continues her cooking.

“I guess I had hoped you would come to love me at least a little like the way you love him.” She says quietly after a few seconds of silence pass. Naruto’s eyes widen and he wonders how she knows. For how long she has known.

“I’ve known since the end of the war. I’ve known for so long yet I chose to be selfish and took you away.” Her eyes seek forgiveness but Naruto doesn’t know what to feel anymore.

He closes his eyes firmly and tries desperately not to think of all the ‘what if’s and all the things that could have gone differently had he not married her. He has already done that enough times, has beaten himself up too many times to count.

But all these thoughts come back full force to haunt him with Hinata’s words.

The pain is there and he tries to suppress it like every other time. 

He wants to break something, he wants to lash out.

He wants to run and he wants to scream.

He wants to find him and tell him that they are both stupid. He wants to hug him to his chest and never let go again.

Hinata is now looking at him and a sad smile decorates her lips.

“Go.” She tells him and she knows how much it will hurt her but it will hurt him even more than she already has if she keeps him here.

Naruto’s eyes widen and he hugs her.

“Thank you.” He utters and then he’s out of the door.

“I’m sorry.” She whispers after he has already left. She only wishes both of them can forgive her.

He runs as fast as his legs can carry him and as much as his lungs can help him. He runs and runs and wishes, hopes, he’s not too late. God knows how many times he has been already.  

Sasuke is supposed to be leaving today and Naruto can’t let him go. Not this time. Not without telling him.

He can see the gate in the distance and wills his legs to move faster. He can’t see him though and his heart constricts. _No._ He reaches them and looks around. With his gaze frantic and his heart going a thousand miles per second, he falls on his knees and his hands come to cover his face.

_Too late. I’m always too late. Always letting him slip from between my fingers._

Maybe he should care about someone seeing the Hokage breaking down in the middle of the street but he can’t.

His mind goes back to all the fights, all the memories and tears fall and he can no longer hold them in. It’s been years and all the pumped up pain, all the heartbreak he tried so desperately not to show is spilling out.

The fake smile finally breaks.  The mask he has been wearing for so long crumbles and the pieces are sharp enough to cut him.

Gone is the stranger that the village’s people came to know as Naruto Uzumaki.

And gone is the real one, leaving only sorrow in his place.

_I want him back. I need him back._

_Please don’t go. Please don’t leave me all alone again._

_Please._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, here it is guys!! I know it took me longer to update it than promised but at long last, it is done. It's currently 4 am so forgive me if it's really bad.

An arm suddenly wraps around him and his first instinct is to shove the person away but the smell is too familiar, the grip comforting.

Naruto lifts his head to look at him and the dark gaze he loves so much is aimed at him, worry bleeding in his eyes.

_‘Sasuke.’_ He whispers, and hugs him back desperately. _He’s here. He’s here._ His mind provides and fresh tears roll down his cheeks as he holds on tighter. He wishes he could have this forever. That he could hold on tight and nobody would be able to tear him away. Never again.

He doesn’t realize it when a sob escapes from his lips but he can feel the fingers run through his hair, effectively calming him down. He buries his face in Sasuke’s chest and the other tightens his grip. Naruto’s fingers tighten around the other’s form and a feeling blooms in his chest that he realizes he hasn’t felt since the day they blew their arms off. At first he can’t exactly place it but then the raven shushes him gently and there it is, he can finally understand what the feeling is.

_Home._

Their knees are hurting from standing for so long on the ground but Naruto can’t find it in himself to care. Sasuke’s here and so close and it’s everything he wants and everything he needs.

Sasuke then brings his palm to rest on the blond’s cheek and gently wipes the tears that are still rolling down his whiskered cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” he asks and his eyes are searching for answers in Naruto’s own. The blond lets out a humorless laugh that sounds too broken for him. “Everything.” He replies and Sasuke never wants to see him this way again. He sounds so defeated, so different than the Naruto he used to know.

The fake smile is gone now though and he’s kind of relieved that Naruto’s done shouldering everyone’s happiness. He goes back to running his fingers through the soft hair and lets him take his time. He knows he will tell him when he’s ready.

A few more minutes pass and by now the sun is starting to go down. The Hokage takes a deep breath and grips the body in front of his as if it will disappear at any given moment.

 “I’m stupid.” He says eventually.

“That’s not news dobe.”

Naruto chuckles lightly and lifts his head to look at Sasuke, all traces of laughter now gone.

“I love you.”

Dark eyes widen and Naruto’s heart hammers against his chest. His mind races and his body feels numb.

“But you don’t have to feel the same! I know you don’t love me like I love you anymore and that’s completely f-” Sasuke grips his chin tightly and makes Naruto look at him.

“Always.” He says, his voice firm, his eyes piercing Naruto’s soul. “I’ve always had. And I always will.”

And Naruto rushes forward, connecting their lips. His hands come up to cup Sasuke’s cheeks while the other’s arm snakes around his neck.  

Their mouths collide and they explore each other and it’s not like fireworks are exploding behind their eyelids. It’s soft and it’s sweet and there’s peace in their hearts and love in their souls.

It feels right and they both click like puzzle pieces destined to be together. There’s a sense of belonging and it’s the only thing they need.

When they break apart Naruto lets out a laugh. It’s genuine and feels like music to Sasuke’s ears.

_Beautiful._ He thinks as he watches Naruto let out a smile for the first time after years of hiding behind paper ones.

They rest their foreheads together and there’s no mistaking the small smile that also decorates Sasuke’s lips.

“I love you too, usuratonkachi.” He says and his heart skips a beat as the smile becomes blinding once again and Naruto Uzumaki is still here.

It falls though and these blue eyes come to meet his black ones in the brink of tears.

“I’m an idiot. Things would have been so different if I had realized sooner how much you mean to me. I’m sorry it took me so long, I’m sor-” Sasuke cuts him abruptly by connecting their lips again and Naruto swallows the rest of his sentence.  

“I’m still here.” He whispers. “ _We_ are still here.”

Naruto just nods as his eyes fall on the ground. Sasuke shakes lightly his head and makes the blond meet his eyes one more time.

“It’s not too late.” He says, certainty oozing off him and Naruto can’t help but believe him. The raven haired shinobi then brushes his lips on the Hokage’s forehead in a feather like touch.

Naruto sighs and his shoulders drop. There are so many things these shoulders carry. So much more than they should.

He nuzzles into his love’s embrace then and he breathes in the scent that’s only him, feels the sense of security that only he could ever provide. It’s comforting and it feels stupid that he had been trying to fight his own heart all along.

They stay like that for a while. The silence surrounds them and wraps around them like a blanket filled with secrets and whispers only they know. Their breaths come out synchronized and they feel more at peace than they have in a long time.

The night has fallen around them by now and the first stars have appeared. Their glow along with the moon’s wash them and it’s as if silver caresses their skin.

Lovers reunited under a million stars.

“I don’t want us to go back to the way we were.” Naruto’s whisper tears the silence. “I don’t want to live in a lie anymore.”

“We won’t.” fingers entangle and they know they will be alright. They are, after all, the sun and the moon. They’ll always be together and never again apart.

_“I promise.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha, how about that huh? Tell me what you think of it?

**Author's Note:**

> Soo, that's it! Thoughts?


End file.
